The Vampire's Coven
by Angels Sonata
Summary: A new force is slowly rising in the Marvel universe. A coven of vampires is rising, and its leader is looking for members. She has her eyes on three in particular and will stop at nothing, and use anyone to get what she wants.
1. Chapter 1

'Derelict buildings. Why am I always investigating derelict buildings?'

The thought ran through Katherine, or Kate Bishop's mind as she carefully made her way through the ruins of a burnt out building in downtown Los Angeles. Adjusting the intensity of the flash lights that had been attached to her glasses, all the girl could see were the decaying support beams that had come down months before and remnants of various knick-knacks that had decorated the homes before arsonists had destroyed the building. According to the information she had been able to gather, the building had been the targeted by one of the many gangs that roamed LA. She didn't know why it had happened, Kate didn't particularly care. So far, all Kate knew was that the building had been a meeting place for one of the many gangs that made Los Angeles their home, there was only a slim chance that the building had any connection to her current investigation.

Stepping into a fire gutted apartment, Kate checked the number on the door. It was burnt and stained with ash, but the number was still there: Seventeen. With that in mind, she walked on through into the living space. Panning her vision from left to right, Kate looked at the damage inflicted. The walls were streaked with soot and ash, furniture had been left in a ruined state. There were a few shelves resting against the wall, their contents reduced to burnt fabrics and ruined picture frames, the original pictures having been destroyed. Scattered pieces of paper rested on the floor all around her, but Kate paid them all no heed. She wasn't there looking for scraps of paper.

She was looking for any sign of her missing person.

It was the latest job she had taken to help make ends meet. Ever since her father had cut her off, her work as half superhero, half detective had helped pay the bills and keep both herself and her ever faithful companion Lucky fed. It wasn't bad work. Kate kept herself active and her mind sharp. It was something the former Young Avenger excelled at. She had to get away from New York though...

Clint had become increasingly difficult to work with.

Dismissing the memory, Kate carried on with her job. She had been contacted three days before in regards to a missing persons case. Normally they wouldn't have piqued her interest, but work was work and it paid the bills. That and Kate hadn't had any work for a week. She needed the money.

As she walked through the home, Kate stopped after a long creaking noise came from underneath her feet. She applied a small amount of pressure down on the floorboards with her boot. She had to be careful, they weren't the most stable of boards to walk across. Every step caused the boards to creak. With that in mind, every move she made was carefully planned. Kate quietly cursed to herself. It was a wise move to be cautious, but she didn't want to spend any more time than she had to. "Damn derelict buildings." Kate muttered to herself, voicing her displeasure at the current situation. Her earlier thought coming to mind as she looked down the hallway. She was starting to question the information she had been given, but this was the first lead she had found since starting the investigation.

-X-

Three nights before...

"Please, Mr. Marshall, take a deep breath and take your time." Kate had insisted that the man sit down when he had come to her apartment. It was a modest space, enough room to store her items and live a comfortable life alongside her dog Lucky. That evening Mr. Marshall had appeared at the building and continuously pressed the buzzer for Kate's apartment. He was a mess. Jittery and shaking, the man appeared to not have slept in days. Kate had given him a cup of tea, hoping it would calm him enough to explain what the situation was.

Kate was sitting opposite the man. She was worried for Mr. Marshall. He looked like he had been through enough already. His clothing was stained with sweat and looked worn. At least a few days, Kate estimated in her mind. The suit he was wearing was creased and the white shirt looked almost grey. It definitely hadn't been changed recently.

"Mr. Marshall?" Kate looked over towards him, watching as the man slowly nodded his head. By Kate's guessing, he was afraid for himself, or someone else. That would explain both the jitters and his wide eyed appearance.

"Apologies... I..." He stuttered the words. Mr. Marshall was still emotional about whatever had happened. He slipped into his jacket pocket, producing a small photograph of a blonde woman with green eyes and fair skin. She looked beautiful. "This is my wife, Elizabeth. She's... she's been missing for the past week."

"Have you gone to the police?"

"Yes, though that was five days ago." The man had seemed to regain some of his composure, he was still shaking but he wasn't stuttering as much. "They don't seem to want to bother with looking for a lost wife." That gave Kate some idea of what might have happened. Missing wives and spouses were common, though she would never speak her thoughts out loud as to why they had gone missing. Part of her wondered if the woman might be sleeping around, having an affair with another man.

Mr. Marshall explained everything that had happened. The arguments they had previously, the argument they had recently. The strong words that had been spoken in anger by both parties. Kate was building a picture of it in her mind, she wanted to try and get a measure of Mr Marshall. It would help with any possible investigation. The man stopped for a moment, slowly pinching the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger. Kate noticed that he was crying. There were tears running down his cheeks. She got up and went to get the box of tissues, setting them down in front of the man as the tears started to flow.

"You don't have to rush Mr. Marshall, take your time." Kate assured him while sitting back down. She reached to the side of her seat, scratching the back of Lucky's head as the dog sat and finished off a slice of left over pizza from the night before. "You said that arguing is a regular occurrence for the pair of you. What normally happens?"

Mr. Marshall wiped his eyes with a tissue before sitting back on his chair and shaking his head. "She would leave the house for a couple of days. Every time she would see her mother, let her know what has happened, then Elizabeth would phone me. This time though there was no phone call. I got in touch with her mother, but she hadn't heard from Elizabeth either. That's when I went to the police. They told me that they had other matters to deal with, none of them included a missing wife. They said she was probably screwing some other guy, or some other girl."

Kate frowned. While she had entertained the notion that his wife might have used the arguments as an excuse to leave and sleep around, she would never say it out loud unless she had actual proof. Had it not been for that small fact, Kate would have declined and referred him to someone else. Mr. Marshall looked as if he needed a break, and Kate would be more than willing to help him out.

"Mr. Marshall, I am going to need your wife's mobile number. If I'm fortunate, I should be able to track its signal."

"You won't be able to trace her phone I'm afraid." From his other inside jacket pocket, Mr. Marshall produced an Iphone in a pink case and handed it to Kate. "She always takes her phone with her, no matter what has happened. She'd never leave the house without it."

There was no power in the phone. Kate tried switching it on but nothing happened. She had a charging cable in the apartment, she'd have to get it plugged in before taking a good look at the phone. Good job she had a program that would unlock the phone for her. There was no real way of determining what passcode was used. If one was used that is. "Mr. Marshall, I shall discover what has happened to your wife, I promise you that. Do you mind if I keep hold of the phone?"

"If it helps you find Elizabeth, then please go right ahead."

"Thank you." Kate got up from her seat and walked over to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now you need to head home and get some rest. I shall call you when I have any developments." Kate assured him before helping him up.

"Oh... thank you, thank you for everything." He was tearing up once again, but they were a mixture of joy and sadness. He looked over his shoulder at Kate as they went to the door, a small but appreciative smile running across his face as he left the apartment building.

-X-

Present moment...

Kate had often wondered how the police chose which cases to focus on. She couldn't remember a time since coming to L.A in which she had faith in the LAPD. They had been a little hesitant in accepting her as both a private detective and a superhero, citing previous incidents with people announcing themselves as superheroes and working within the city. For the first few weeks of arriving in L.A, the police had monitored Kate's apartment building.

Perhaps they had heard what happened in New York when she and Clint teamed up with the Merc-with-a-Mouth, Deadpool.

'Blow up one electrical substation and suddenly you have a reputation.' Kate thought dryly, before a grin spread across her face when she remembered the fun she had using the bazooka.

'Stay on track Kate.' She told herself mentally before getting back to the task at hand.

Kate moved from the living room towards the bedrooms. She stepped into the master bedroom, looking around but like the rest of the apartment, the walls were fire blackened and the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. The bed was burnt to a crisp, the vanity and wardrobes destroyed. Kate panned her head left to right, letting the light shine over everything, but nothing revealed itself. She was about to move on, but Kate's flash lights revealed a small slither of silver sticking out from beneath the ash. Kneeling down, adjusting her bow and quiver of arrows so they didn't scrape along the floor, Kate picked it up and held it into the lights. It was heavier than she had expected. A long piece of metal, possibly silver, with the word 'love' engraved on it. The piece was curved slightly and Kate guessed that it had been part of a bracelet.

It appeared that she was on the right track after all.

When she had eventually logged into the phone, there was a photograph of a bracelet. It had been a gift from her Richard, according to her social media page. Amongst the find, there had been a few comments in regard to the recent arson attack. One message stood out amongst the others. A conversation between Elizabeth and a friend about the apartment complex revealed that she and Mr. Marshall lived their before the engagement. Another set of messages had mentioned meetings with an unknown person, some were dated after the arson attack. Kate was definitely on the right track.

Still, the question remained; where was Elizabeth Marshall?

-X-

Under the pale moonlight, standing in the pouring rain that had been falling for the past day, a small group stood overlooking the remains of the burnt out apartment building. There were seven in total. Six were female, the seventh a male and had been forced to his knees and flanked by two of the women. All but one of the group failed to wear a hood, though despite the weather, no one was bothered by it.

The woman without a hood up stood away from the others. She stood on the ledge of the building, one foot propped up on the tiles, her gloved hands resting on the raised knee. She looked down on the burnt building, watching with a smile as the woman within moved through room after room. The stranger was tall and lithe, dressed in a pair of black trousers, the cuffs of the legs tucked into thigh high boots. A white long sleeved blouse clung to her body, plastered against her skin in the rain. Crimson hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Dark eyes gazed on, following with inhuman accuracy the human woman walking from the bedroom she had been investigating. Lips painted blood red slowly curved upwards in a smile. Things were falling into place perfectly. Much better than she could have anticipated.

"Please... I played my part so will you let me see my wife?" The voice belonged to Mr. Marshall who struggled in the grip of the two women that held him back. Despite their size compared to the man, they were far stronger than he could ever be. Both were dressed in skin tight leather trousers and tops, both had skin as pale as the woman at the ledge. The only difference was their hair. One had raven black hair, the other had blonde. "Please!"

"Oh hush now Mr. Marshall, there is no need to shout." Her voice was cultured, sweet like honey and yet alluring at the same time. She turned away from the ledge of the roof and walked towards the man. Her eyes looked over him, seemingly wondering whether or not to oblige his request. A moment passed, before she shrugged her shoulders and clapped her hands. The girls flanking Mr. Marshall stepped away and stood to one side, allowing him to get up and stand. He was taller than the others but that made no difference. He was intimidated by the six leather-clad women.

"Where is my wife?"

The woman said nothing, instead indicating for the hooded woman to step forward. Her head, along with the rest of her body was covered by the cloak she wore. Delicate hands reached up from beneath the material, pulling the hood back. Golden blonde tresses spilled out from the cloak. Pale skin, ruby red lips and green eyes told the man that he had found the woman he loved.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hello Steven." she responded in a low voice before discarding the rest of the cloak, letting it fall to the floor and revealing the form of his wife. "Miss me?" the woman asked before she was embraced by Steven, his arms wrapped around the woman as if he was never going to let her go. She didn't return the embrace though.

"Where have you been... I was worried sick!"

The comment seemed to amuse Elizabeth, who merely grinned and with strength not seen before, she forced Richard from her, shoving him to the ground. "Like you cared." Elizabeth responded, her tone cold and harsh. She was changed somehow. It was only when Steven had stopped himself from crying did he see what Elizabeth was wearing. Unlike the others who wore a mixture of leather and silk, Elizabeth was dressed in something far more unique. A long black gown covered her body. The gown was long sleeved, the bodice stopping around her ample bosom. The overall image made Elizabeth resemble something from a Gothic horror movie. There was a major difference in Elizabeth though, and it wasn't the gown she wore, or that she was as pale as the other women surrounding him. It was the two bite marks that were present on her neck. They had healed though, nothing thing more than scar tissue now. Upon seeing them, one thing that came to mind: Elizabeth was a vampire.

"What did you do to her, you bitch?" Steven shouted at the top of his voice. He wasn't expecting what came next. Elizabeth struck out with speed and she slapped Richard across the face. It was hard enough to leave a bruise on his cheek, and it sent Richard sprawling to the floor again.

"You shall not speak to the mistress in such a tone you insolent worm!" Elizabeth snarled. She was about to strike him while Richard was on the floor, but the mysterious woman's hand gentle hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and a soft smile stopped Elizabeth from continuing. She was enjoying the reunion that she had helped create. "He disrespected you Mistress, he must be punished."

"Your loyalty and compassion are truly respected, my dear Elizabeth, but if I punished everyone that disrespected me then I wouldn't have many loyal followers." she responded, stepping closer to Elizabeth and cupping the blonde haired woman's chin in her hand. She brought Elizabeth closer, leaning in and kissing the woman on the lips. It was long, sensuous and with Richard watching, it had the attended effect. It got Richard worked up.

Angry for what had been done to his wife, Richard pushed himself up from the ground and charged towards the pair of them. No one went to stop them though, they didn't need to. As soon as Richard was close enough the woman lunged out, her hand clamping around the man's throat, lifting him into the air with ease. She and Elizabeth separated though remained close enough to stand together. The crimson haired woman grinned, her fangs could be seen poking out from her bottom lip. She glanced at Richard and proceeded to carry him over towards the roof-edge, lifting him high into the air and grinning at him.

"I must thank you for your role in this, Mr. Marshall. And take heart while you can, for Elizabeth shall be living in luxuries you could never have given her. I have one last task for you before death fully embraces you." With her fangs extended, she dropped Richard briefly before holding him by his shirt. Without warning, she bit deep into Richard's neck, drinking deep the blood. Her eyes became pinpricks of what they were as she took in the blood, fuelling her strength and quenching her thirst. She had not drunk blood since turning Elizabeth nights before. When the woman was finished, she looked on at Richard who hung limply in her grip. He had died, but there was still life in his eyes. Richard's flesh had turned pale, and he moaned quietly.

"My gift for you, is a small taste of what it is means to be a vampire. You shall die tonight, Richard, but your death shall serve the greater good of my coven." she wanted the girl in the building before them, and her thrall was the best way of achieving that goal. It was doubtful that the archer was strong enough to defeat a thrall, but if she survived then it would weaken her. Then all that remained was to go in, and turn her to their cause. "Now go! Fly my pretty!" In another display of inhuman strength, the vampire flung the near-feral vampire to the building. The creature shrieked as it travelled through the air.

-X-

Kate had exhausted all possible ideas of what might be found in the home. Apart from the sliver of bracelet she had found in the bedroom, there wasn't much else to be gained from investigating the building. Stepping out into the hallway, Kate let out a deep breath. She hadn't found much, but it was more than what she had achieved before. This was good. It was progress. All she had to do was find the next step.

One idea that had come to mind was the unknown number that had appeared on Elizabeth's phone. If she could trace it, then she would be able to find out where it came from. The only problem was that the LAPD wouldn't help her. She hadn't the chance to make a connection with the police department. Not enough to ask them to look into the number and try and find a number. The only option after that was getting in touch with the Avengers. With Clint. That would be her last resort. Kate might strike lucky and find someone willing to help her. There had to be a decent cop in Los Angeles. Kate was willing to believe in that at least.

Deciding to call it a night and pick up her investigation in the morning, Kate made her way towards the stairs and the careful descent to the ground floor. She stopped, when the piercing shriek was carried through the air. Immediately Kate was on edge. She had bow in hand and an arrow drawn taught against the string. There was the sound of cracking timber and the thud of something heavy rolling across the floor. Whatever had happened was above her, and Kate had to check it out. She didn't think it was human. If it was, and it made that sound, then the first thing that came to mind was either a mutant, or a human with super-powers.

She hoped it wasn't Venom or Carnage. Two psychos that Kate was ill-equipped to deal with.

Moving towards the stairs leading up into the building, Kate slowed her pace as she turned the corner. She aimed her bow, keeping the arrow taught and ready to fly at a moment's notice. She had equipped a standard arrow with a keen edge and a hollow point. She didn't know what she was dealing with, and if it was a monster, she doubted a standard arrow could do anything. But she could hope.

Slowly walking towards the apartment that the creature crashed through; Kate calmed herself. Her heart was beating rapidly, she had never encountered anything like this in Los Angeles yet, so this was a new experience. But it was a learning experience. Moving a collapsed door out of the way so she could get on through into the area, there was what sounded like panting. It reminded her of Lucky after exercise. Whatever had crashed through into the building was either exhausted, out of breath, or something not human. Most likely the latter, Kate thought as she did a room by room sweep. Normally she would have called out, try to make contact, but she didn't want to reveal her location.

Walking into the living area, Kate's eyes widened at the hunched creature that was stood in the middle of the room. It was grunting, as if trying to speak. It hadn't noticed Kate yet, or if it had, the creature hadn't acknowledged her presence. It was sniffing the air, definitely like an animal, almost simian in its gait and posture. Kate aimed the arrow at the creature, but she couldn't take the shot. Not without knowing what she was dealing with. Taking in more of the creature's body, Kate noticed the clothing on its back. It was human... or human like. It was a suit, a very familiar suit. At that point, Kate realised who it was.

"Richard? Richard Marshall?" she asked quietly. It seemed to get the creature's attention and turned. Blood stained the collar of the shirt and the shoulders of the suit jacket. It let out a guttural grunt and showed off a mouth full of needle sharp teeth. Whatever had happened to Richard, he was no longer human.

"What the hell?" she asked, lowering her guard for a moment, before raising it and letting an arrow fly as soon as the creature that was once Richard charged for her, snarling and showing its teeth, and claws out in front of it.


	2. Chapter 2

There was no coherent thought coming from the human-turned-vampire. It was not a natural vampire. Unlike the mistress that had turned it and the women that had accompanied her, the creature that Richard had become was more bestial in its nature. Many would call it a ghoul, a feral beast who's only compulsion was to drink any blood it could get. When transformed, a human could become one of two types. The first was the vampire seen in modern media. Walk on two legs, eat and drink, though needing blood to survive. They were capable of thought and speech. Able to reason and communicate in human tongue, and resist the urges and thirst for blood that took all vampires at one point in their existence. What Richard had become was the darker side of the vampire myth.

The beast that rested within the souls of all vampires.

The arrow that Kate loosed struck the creature in the shoulder, but did little more than frustrate and infuriate the creature. It screeched, though whether in pain or anger remained a mystery to Kate. Being honest with herself, she didn't want to know. Drawing two more arrows and firing them in quick succession, Kate knew she had to wound the creature as much as possible. Both Arrows hit. One in the shoulder, the other in the neck but neither slowed it down. Realising that her standard arrows didn't do anything of great effect, Kate clicked down on the handle of her bow and drew a tougher bow that was sharper. Hopefully it will put the creature down for the count.

"Richard, this isn't you! See reason, remember I'm the one that you hired to find your wife! To find Elizabeth!" Kate hoped that the creature that had once been Richard could be reasoned with, but it was no use. The creature's response was to snarl and acting on instinct the ghoul still charged forward, scrabbling across the the floor, its claws scratching into the floorboards and digging up wood chippings and ash at the same time. Kate draw back the arrow she had selected, this time lining up a shot and firing. It hit the ghoul as it leapt into the air. Another screech cut across the night, though this one was a screech of pain. The ghoul crashed to the ground; flailing its arms and retreating back. It tried to remove the arrow protruding from its eye and with a few swipes to test it, the creature finally succeeded. The bottom of its wrist connected with the arrow. With a snap, the shaft was broken in half. It screeched again before clawing the arrow from its eye and removing the ruined eyeball along with it.

Taking up the opportunity to escape, Kate turned and ran from the creature.

-X-

The ghoul that had once been human snarled and simpered as it dealt with the pain it was enduring. Huffing and puffing, its claws dug into the ground and scratched deep into the wood. Whether this was done in frustration or pain would have been difficult for any observer to guess. It was no longer able to communicate. The only noises that were made were grunts and guttural growls would might have made up the ghoul's vocabulary.

With a single crimson eye to see, and blood-lust and pain driving the creature onwards the ghoul started to move.

It started to hunt.

Hunched forward, the ghoul bound through the building, following the scent of the prey it was hunting. It crashed into old furniture and smashed through walls. Grunting sounds were made with every effort of searching out it's prey, the remaining eye alert and after sniffing the air, the ghoul began moving again. It had picked up the woman's scent.

-X-

Kate ran through the building, following her memory of when she first entered. All thoughts of caution were thrown to the wind as she leapt over rickety floorboards and rushed down flights of stairs. The dangers of the building were unheeded at that point. Safety was the last thing on Kate's mind, not when a monster was chasing after her. Kate wanted to escape, and had it not been for the fact she was on the fourth floor, she would have jumped through the window and braved the landing. It wasn't as if she could use a grapple-arrow, she didn't have the time nor the light to fumble around for the right arrow in her quiver. As the girl reached the last floor, Kate skidded to a halt.

The lights from her glasses showed the main exit to the building had been covered over. Kate ran her hands across the surface. It was metal. It felt like a metal sheet, but who would put it in front of a door?

None of this made sense, and Kate started to kick against it. The metal wasn't budging, it must have been secured against the structure, or perhaps it was propped up against the building with support beams. Whatever the case was, Kate needed a new plan. She started to come up with new ideas and new ways out. So far nothing safe came to mind. She could go to the floors above and jump through one of the windows, trusting that a car was there to partially cushion the fall. There was the roof. Kate could climb back up the stairs and hope that the door leading out wasn't blocked off. That was the more plausible idea that she came up with. Of course, she still had a monster to contend with.

A snarl caused Kate to slowly turn around, a hand reaching for an arrow.

The ghoul stood before her, its red eye shone in the darkness with an unnatural light of its own. Kate looked the creature up and down, looking at its eye with particular interest. There was a hollow socket in the skull, blood stained the pallid skin and ran down its cheek. Whether it was in pain or not remained to be seen, but Kate didn't care. She wanted to escape. The ghoul was the only thing that was stopping her. With a sense of calm that few would be able to match, Kate had drawn an arrow and pulled it tightly, drawing the string against her cheek. She had no idea what sort of arrow it was, and so trusted fate to have given her something significant, something that could either kill or incapacitate the creature.

Kate loosed the arrow.

There was a plop sound as the arrow met the creature's shoulder, it seemed to look at the arrow before batting it away as if it were merely a fly. Kate silently cursed, realising she had drawn a suction cup arrow, designed more for target practice, and sometimes helping to bridge a gap for a zip-line depending on the surface and the time of day. The creature didn't attack straight away, but Kate feared that one wrong move would spell the end for her.

Taking up another arrow from her quiver, Kate took a deep breath. She hoped this would be a better arrow than before. She lined up her shot, released the arrow.

This time the arrow did more. They were bola arrows, and as soon as they were close enough the arrows split apart and wrapped themselves around the ghoul. Its arms were bound against its chest and it screeched and tried to thrash against its bindings. Taking the opportunity to run, Kate dashed away from the front door. She side-stepped around the creature as it tried to tear itself free from the bolas. It wouldn't hold it forever, but Kate hoped it would be enough to keep it distracted long enough to get to the roof and escape.

-X-

"She certainly is resourceful." The vampire's eyes glowed red. Through the blood that they shared, the woman was watching the chase through the eyes of the creature she had herself unleashed. A predatory grin spread across her porcelain white features. She saw what was happening, where the girl was going. Through the creature, she could smell the sweat and fear that it's own senses picked up. It was a delicious and heady mixture, even when noted at a distance. The creature began to lumber forward, and continued to stalk and follow the trail that the human was taking.

-X-

Wounded as it was, the creature did not move with any grace. Not that it had an ounce of grace when it was at full strength. The ghouls that the vampire created were simian in every sense of the word. Lumbering on all fours, knuckles dragging across the floor, the ghoul snarled. Using his body as a battering ram, it smashed through doors and clung to ceilings with its claws. Knowing that its prey was above her, the ghoul started to dig through the door, before using its fist to smash through the wooden flooring. There were a number of this, and raising its head through the hole in the floor, there was another screech. The girl had been knocked to the ground. The ghoul tried to struggle through the hole, but it felt something pierce its shoulder. The pain shot through the ghoul and it howled and screeched as it struggled to come to terms with the sharp arrow sticking out of its flesh.

Another arrow shot through the air. It skimmed the ghoul's ear, eliciting another screech. The arrow landed in the wood behind it. There was a brief moment of struggle before the room was lit up in a blinding light. The ghoul screamed, almost in pain and thrashed around. It dislodged itself to slip from the hole it had made. The ghoul crashed to the ground below it, and with the instability of the floorboards and the damage the ghoul itself had done, it crashed through to the next floor below.

A scream that could only be described as rage cut through the building.

The girl was already running.

-X-

The mistress of the vampires snarled and shielded her eyes in a gesture of shared pain at the bright light. She stumbled back a moment, her eyes clenched shut as she tried to shake off the effects of seeing the light through the ghoul's vision. Snarling again as her vision returned, slowly but surely, she looked over towards the building. The snarl slowly dissipated. She could not be angry at such a worthy member of her coven.

The girl truly was resourceful. Her skill with a bow and arrow, the cunning tricks that had been used with each of her arrows. All had stopped the ghoul multiple times and when the arrow that caused the flash of light had been loosed, then that made it all the better.

"Mistress, are you okay?" Elizabeth had stepped forward, offering a hand to the woman if she needed it. It was dismissed with a simple gesture and the newest member of the coven took a respectful step back, allowing her mistress to stand without aide. The woman started to chuckle, and then she clapped her hands. Elizabeth and her fellow vampires merely looked on at the sight, curious to know what their mistress was excited for. Had something happened? Was there cause to celebrate?

"Mistress?"

"No need to concern yourself with me, dear Elizabeth." the mistress responded before she took a step towards the ledge of the building. There was nothing else to be done but to greet their newest member to the coven and deal with the ghoul that was chasing them. "Come my sisters! Our newest sibling is rushing to us as we speak." With inhuman grace and powers beyond that of mortal knowledge, the woman leapt and like a leaf on the wind, she drifted across to the opposite building. Moments later she was joined by her entourage.

The leader of the group stood in front of the door, though at a respectable distance. Her followers stood behind in a rough semi-circle. They were still, quiet, waiting for what was coming. With her eyes shut, the vampire concentrated on the building they stood on. She was looking through the eye of her ghoul, the creature had gotten back onto it's feet and was rushing through the building. It had the scent of the girl and did everything it could to make up the distance between the two of them. It needn't bother though. As the vampire opened her eyes, the girl crashed through the door onto the roof and skid across the wet surface.

It was difficult to impress the leader of the vampires, but watching how the girl positioned herself to kneel down, arrow knocked to the bow and the string pulled taught in a single move was quite impressive.

They all stood in silence for a moment. The only sounds was of the distant traffic through the city and the archer's deep breathing. Of course, the training that the archer was showing proved itself. The woman was slowing her breathing, calming herself. The vampyric mistress could have danced to the beat of her heart at the beginning, but the rhythm and tempo of the heartbeat had slowly decreased and was beating at a normal rate. With a thought, the vampire forced her ghoul to stop its pursuit. It would eventually join them on the roof, but it wouldn't rush head-first. The vampire wanted to have a conversation with the archer.

She started clapping, but no one else joined in.

-X-

The creature would find a number of surprises waiting for it through the hallways of the building. Kate had seen to it. She had taken the last remaining flash-arrows that she had brought with her and set them up as trip mines. T'challa had given her a number of trick arrows to help Kate with crime-fighting as a gift for when she first started. Among them were arrows that could be remote activated using a motion sensor. The light arrows would blind the vampire. With this in mind, Kate was going to have to put a call into some of her old contacts and see if they can adapt the arrows to emit ultraviolet light.

Hopefully the stories about vampires were true. Including sensitivity to ultraviolet light and the sun.

Crashing through the door and into the rain, Kate prepared herself with a metal tipped arrow notched and aimed at the door. There was a light arrow embedded in the wall at the base of the stairwell and when that went off, Kate would be ready.

There was a moment of silence, and Kate heard the clapping. She stood, turned around and with the arrow still pulled taut, she aimed at the stranger. Despite the threat, the five behind her remained where they were, but regarded Kate with mild interest. Some glanced to one another. Some clenched their fists and started to snarl. They were all silenced with a gesture from the woman standing in front. She held her hands up in a placatory gesture, hoping to gain peace between the two of them before stepping forward.

"I can assure you my dear, I mean you no harm." the woman spoke, her voice honeyed and sweet. Kate was sceptical, especially considering the fact that she had been chased by a strange creature, only to encounter...

Kate's eyes glanced between the women standing behind the stranger, and her eyes darted to the woman in the black long sleeve gown and the blonde hair. Kate recognised her immediately. Elizabeth. The very woman she had been hunting. Seeing Elizabeth on the top of the building, and having seen Richard transform into the creature that was chasing her, Kate was starting to get the feeling that she had been set up. The arrow remained pointed at the stranger. Kate had taken her eyes from Elizabeth, and looked on at the woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sienna Marie Ducane, Lady of the Night, Mistress of the Rosen Coven." she answered with a theatrical flourish, bowing deeply with one arm across her chest and the other outstretched to her side. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Bishop." she responded before standing straight, grinning as she knew that Kate had recognised Elizabeth as the woman she had been searching for. Kate was going to respond, she wanted answers, but the flash of light came from the darkened stairwell, and pivoting on her foot with her arrow aimed at the door. The screeching sounds of the ghoul cut across the darkness as it stumbled up the stairs and leapt out onto the roof.

Kate loosed the arrow as the ghoul skidded across the surface. Its claws gouged furrows into the roof before it snarled and looked around. As it turned towards Kate, the arrow embedded itself in the ghoul's shoulder with a wet thud. The ghoul screeched in pain, snarling and its became enraged before snarling at Kate. She was unable to draw another arrow in time. Seemingly ignoring the pain, the ghoul charged towards her, and Kate held her bow out to use it as a weapon. It wasn't the best of close combat weapons, but Clint had taught her how to fight with a bow, and Kate was going to to just that.

Then she saw a blur.

Somehow Sienna had put herself between Kate and the Ghoul. As if she were wielding a sword Sienna cut diagonally through the air. Blood trailed in the direction of the cut before falling to the floor and mixing with the rain. The ghoul stood, its eye widened in shock as it tried to growl or make any sort of sound. It slumped forward to the ground. Sienna had cut its neck.

"What... what the hell..." Kate had seen a lot in her time. Facing gangsters, human traffickers, terrorists and superheroes fighting one another for different ideals. But to see this stranger cut down a ghoul, something that used to be a human, with a single swipe of her arm stunned even Kate. She slowly backed away, unaware of the five women that had accompanied her were beginning to encircle her. They were blocking her escape, not that she had anywhere to escape. Kate wouldn't have had the chance to reach for a grapple-arrow, not without running from the six women. They weren't normal. Kate had already determined that.

Were they meta-humans? Inhumans? Mutants?

"What the hell are you?"

Sienna didn't answer quite yet. She merely glanced at Kate before turning and facing the girl, taking steps towards her. "The simple answer to that question, is that I am a vampire. I told you that I was the Mistress of the Rosen Coven. A vampire coven."

The word vampire brought everything crashing to the ground. The ghoul, these women. Kate had heard about the rumours of vampires hiding in plain sight but had never paid them any heed. Now she had reason to. Watching Sienna effortlessly cut the ghoul down with a swipe of her hand told Kate all she needed to know. It was time to get out of here.

The members of the coven stopped her, however. She had twisted on her heel, Kate found herself looking on at the group that had followed Sienna. They weren't threatening her, at least not yet. Kate looked on at each of them before her arm reached up to her quiver. She pulled one, knowing that despite the fact she was outnumbered, it was better to go down fighting than to simply submit and let herself be taken by the group.

A firm grip stopped her from drawing her bow.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear child." Sienna's cultured voice cut through the darkness, her grip tightened around the wrist. Kate looked over her shoulder at Sienna, and knew that she would have to fight hand to hand.

Using her bow as a close-combat weapon, she swung it around and aimed for Sienna's legs. The vampire jumped, letting go of Kate's wrist and allowing the archer to draw her arrow. She pivoted and faced the oncoming vampires. She fired without properly aiming, the arrow cutting through the trousers of a red haired vampire that charged alongside the others. The creature let out a sharp hiss of pain, but it did not falter and did not stop. The red-head barrelled into Kate, but the girl remained calm. She used the momentum of the vampire and flung the create over her shoulder. Kate dived forward into a roll. As she rose back up she had already drawn an arrow, pulled it tight and fired.

There was another hiss, which turned into a scream. The arrow had embedded itself in the red haired vampire, protruding through it's back and piercing the creature's heart. A second arrow was drawn and fired in the same spot. The vampire dropped to her knees. Her body turning into ash and collapsing to the ground.

The vampire's death was not taken lightly.

"Bathory!" Sienna screamed the name, her eyes wide with a mixture of sadness and anger. They had been close. Though Kate did not know it, Bathory was the first woman that Sienna had inducted into the coven, and they were sisters beyond the bond of the coven. Sienna snarled after her grief passed. Grief became anger and Sienna wanted revenge. "I shall enjoy turning you and making you kneel at my feet!" Silently, the remaining vampires stepped aside. They knew that Sienna wanted to finish the girl off on her own. Revenge and loss were powerful weapons to use in a fight. Especially for a vampire. The group merely watched as their mistress charged, her nails were elongated and sharpened and ready to draw blood. Snarling, Sienna smashed into Kate. The woman was strong.

Kate was weak.

The evening had been difficult for the Kate. She had been fighting for her life, running up and down the building.

She didn't last more than a few minutes.

Sienna's attacks were fuelled by anger and rage. Her slashes cut through Kate's guard and cut into her skin. Small droplets of blood flew into the air. The cuts were tiny, but the numerous individual cuts soon took a toll on Kate's body. The former Young-Avenger could only take so much punishment. Even with her bow used as a weapon, just as Clint taught her, Kate was unable to fight back. The girl knew it was over when a swift slash of the vampire's nails cut the bow in half, before following with a back-handed swipe which caused the remains to fly from Kate's hands and fall to the ground, clacking against the roof. One final attack, a strike to the stomach from Sienna caused Kate to fall back, rolling across the roof and coming to a halt against the ledge. She was still alive, but Kate's breathing was ragged, and she slowly started to rise up, managing to get on her hands and knees despite the wounds inflicted.

Sienna stood above the defeated archer. The vampire had a look of glee on her face, knowing she had defeated her opponent. Anger and fury were replaced. Sienna now saw opportunity, the chance to replace the losses. With her eyes glowing crimson, Sienna reached down and lifted Kate's chin up, staring at the girl, their eyes met.

"Look at me. Look at me and listen." Sienna commanded, her voice was whispered into Kate's mind, helping to keep the woman under Sienna's thrall. "From this moment on, you shall forsake all bonds of loyalty to your past life. From now until the end of time, you shall serve your mistress and your sisters of the Rosen Coven. Forever immortal, forever young. Swear it to me."

The words cut through Kate's mind, seeping into her soul and worming their way into her thoughts. She tried to resist, but she was bruised and battered, cut and bleeding. Her body was weak, her mind wasn't as strong.

"Swear it!" Sienna hissed the words.

"I... I... I swear... to serve you, my mistress." she breathed the words out, but all present could hear them. Kate was now under Sienna's spell. Now, and forever.

"Welcome to the coven, my dear Katherine." Sienna's fangs lengthened, and bringing Kate close, the woman bit down, breaking the skin and drawing blood.

-x-X-x-

Days had passed since the first meeting between Kate Bishop, and the Sisterhood. They had retreated once the sirens started to echo in the streets. Sienna herself had carried the limp form of Kate. The complete transformation of the archer into a vampire had happened in Sienna's own home, where there was no chance of being interrupted. Despite the rage felt when she had killed Bathory, Sienna still wanted Kate as a member of the coven. They were supposed to be eight, but for the time being, seven was going to do. Besides, as Sienna told her sisters, there were plenty of candidates that would be worthy of membership to the Rosen Coven. It was just a matter of time. Eventually, they would recruit more.

For the moment though, Sienna had declared that instead of going out and finding new recruits, they wait. Prepare themselves for the challenges ahead. And of course, they were yet to recruit their new sister. Alongside Elizabeth, Sienna had taken Kate into solitude to prepare the new vampire. The room in question was quite oppulent and grand. A stately bedroom that could host a small gathering. Kate Bishop was the only person of interest in the bedroom at that point, and both Sienna and Elizabeth were working around the newly created vampire, preparing her and dressing her to the standards of the coven. Both were dressed in the same manner.

Elizabeth still wore a black gown with off the shoulder capped sleeves and elbow length gloves. Her hair was styled elegantly into a bun and black quartz dangled from her ears and a matching necklace was draped around her neck.

Sienna was dressed in a similar gown of the same colour. The difference between the two was that Sienna had no sleeves, and her arms were bare. A choker was around her neck, the clasp covered with a ruby stone. Despite the fact that any warm-blooded man would say that the two of them looked stunning, neither complimented one another. They didn't need to. And at that moment, the two ladies were focussed on Kate.

The newly sired vampire's body had been enhaned with the help of a corset, turning Kate's already impressive body shape into an hourglass. Stockings ran up her legs, and a lace choker covered the bite marks on Kate's neck. The wounds on her body had healed, and were practically invisible. The gown they dressed Kate in was like a wedding dress. The colour was a mixture of pale blue and white, that when worn by Kate, she appeared almost ethereal, like a spirit. They had styled Kate's hair into a formal bun, held in place with long pins. Gloves covered Kate's arms and high heeled shoes were hidden underneath the layers of tulle underskirts. While Sienna and Elizabeth dressed the vampire, all Kate did was stare into the mirror, at her reflection, or lack of.

"Katherine my dear, are you with us?" Sienna asked, her hand gently caressing Kate's cheek, seemingly snapping the girl out of her trance. "It will take time, but as you grow accustomed to the life of a vampire, you shall forget you ever needed to look in the mirror for the sake of vanity." The words were soothing, and closing her eyes for a moment, Kate's lips curled upwards in a smile. She looked towards Sienna, nodding her head.

"Apologies my mistress. As you said, it will take time. But in both this life and my previous life, I had never worn such an exquisite gown." Kate answered, and Sienna took Kate's hand in her own, smiling and patting it gently. In the time since Kate had been brought to Sienna's home, they had grown close. Kate had gone through what many would call an initiation, but it was her and Sienna getting to know one another more intimately.

"Unless you need to wear an alternative outfit, these gowns shall be all you ever wear." Sienna responded, before kissing Kate on the lips, a passionate and tender kiss. Elizabeth had stood back, respectfully allowing the two some space. "Now, I believe your sisters are waiting. We shall celebrate your induction to the Coven." Sienna turned to Elizabeth. "Be a dear, and take Katherine's other hand." The vampire nodded, and stepped alongside the newest vampire.

"My sisters await. Lead on, my mistress." Kate finished, and she walked towards the door with her sister, and her mistress.


End file.
